Secret War veterans still without benefits

The United States pulled out of Vietnam in 1973, and many of the Hmong soldiers who fought for the Americans in the Secret War have since resettled across the U.S. and become legalized citizens. But their wartime struggles did not end there.
T'xer Zhon Kha/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

WAUSAU - Norpor Lor ran ahead of his fellow soldier in pursuit of the enemy.

His comrade called to him for backup and as Lor turned back to help, an already-downed communist Vietnamese soldier fired a single bullet that shot straight through his partner’s lower abdomen, out his shoulder and into the right side of Lor’s neck.

That was nearly five decades ago in Laos when Lor and several thousand other Hmong men fought alongside American forces in what would be known as the Secret War, a clandestine operation during the Vietnam War era. Lor was just 15 years old when he joined in 1962.

A long, vertical scar where the bullet entered Lor's neck remains with him today, and tears welled in his eyes as he recounted the traumatic story in an interview with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Lor, now 69, said he was lucky he didn't die that day, but the pain he described was more psychological than physical.

“He died right then and there,” Lor said of his partner, whom he referred to as a boy. He swallowed hard before he went silent for a few moments. “That’s something that is always playing before my eyes. Every time. That memory never goes away.”

The United States pulled out of Vietnam in 1973, and many of the Hmong soldiers who fought for the Americans in the Secret War have since resettled across the U.S. and become legalized citizens, but their wartime struggles did not end there.

As nontraditional soldiers of an off-the-record war, Hmong veterans have never received any official military benefits. Advocates say their contributions have never been fully recognized. Earlier this month, President Barack Obama acknowledged the legacy of the war in Laos in an official state visit there, the first by a sitting U.S. president. In Wausau, a memorial recognizing Hmong veterans — the first of its kind in north central Wisconsin — will be dedicated on Saturday.

Some activists now are pushing for more than symbolic recognition: a dramatic expansion of the way the U.S. treats surviving Hmong veterans of the Secret War, most of whom are now in their 70s and 80s. Some lawmakers have circulated legislation that would extend health care benefits, pensions and other rights that typically come with serving the U.S. in war. Those who hope to see such benefits extended to Hmong veterans are seeking to build on acknowledgements and memorials toward more concrete actions.

A secret war

In the early 1960s, the Vietnam War raged and the threat of communism spread across southeast Asia. A 1962 peace conference in Geneva had declared the Kingdom of Laos — a neighboring country of Vietnam — neutral, but communist North Vietnam's continued presence in the country prompted the U.S. to become more involved.

The U.S. increased its military aid to the area and the CIA became engaged in the Secret War.

The CIA began recruiting ethnic peoples in Laos, and the Hmong were among the new recruits. Thousands of Hmong men and boys were armed and trained to form a special guerrilla unit that was tasked with rescuing fallen U.S. pilots and blocking the dangerous Ho Chi Minh Trail — North Vietnam's supply route to their allies, the Viet Cong in South Vietnam.

Tong Blia Xiong, a Hmong veteran and member of the Wisconsin chapter of Lao Veterans of America, says almost all Hmong men were soldiers — at least one male member of every family had to serve. But the United States has never declared them as U.S. veterans.

"The United States acknowledges that the Hmong people fought for them," Xiong said, "but they haven't officially recognized the Hmong and given us the right to ask for veteran benefits or services."

Xiong and hundreds of other Lao Veterans members across the country have been fighting for official recognition with regular lobby letters and trips to Washington, D.C. In 2015, 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, responded by introducing a bill called the Hmong Veterans' Service Recognition Act. In the House, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., proposed an identical bill the same day.

The bill would allow those who supported the U.S. during the Vietnam War era to be interred in national cemeteries; it did not address any medical benefits or monetary compensation. Both bills garnered bipartisan support including from Wisconsin's congressional delegation; U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Reps. Ron Kind, Reid Ribble and Sean Duffy all were cosponsors of the act. Wisconsin, behind California and Minnesota, has one of the highest populations of Hmong people in the United States.

Despite bipartisan support, neither bill in either chamber has been passed into law. John Kraus, Baldwin's communications director, said the Hmong Veterans’ Service Recognition Act was one of several bills introduced as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill that specifies the Department of Defense spending.

"(The bill) had been cleared ... but there was no agreement on amendments and that package didn’t get through," Kraus said in an emailed statement. "It is unclear what Majority Leader (Mitch) McConnell plans to do with the Hmong Veterans’ Service Recognition Act, the Veterans First Act, and other veterans bills when the Senate is back in session."

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Hmong pilots from the U.S. Secret War in Laos were honored with certificates during the dedication of the T-28 static display Saturday September 20, 2014 at Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls. Gary C. Klein/Sheboygan Press Media

Pao Yang, who flew a T-28 in the U.S. Secret War in Laos smiles following the ceremony Saturday September 20, 2014 at the Aviation Heritage Center at the Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls. Gary C. Klein/Sheboygan Press Media

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson poses with a Hmong veteran of the U.S. Secret War in Laos following a ceremony held at the Aviation Heritage Center Saturday September 20, 2014 at Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls. Gary C. Klein/Sheboygan Press Media

Hmong pilots from the U.S. Secret War in Laos were honored with certificates during the dedication of the T-28 static display Saturday September 20, 2014 at Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls. Gary C. Klein/Sheboygan Press Media

Lt. Col. (Ret.) John Gunn speaks about training pilots for the U.S. Secret War in Laos during the T-28 dedication ceremony Saturday September 20, 2014 at Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls. Gary C. Klein/Sheboygan Press Media

Shoua Yang points out to his son Thomas the Trojan Horsemen T-28 flyover during the T-28 display Saturday September 20, 2014 at Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls. Gary C. Klein/Sheboygan Press Media

Rep. Sean Duffy, an original cosponsor of the Hmong recognition bill, also proposed a piece of legislation concerning Hmong veterans in 2015, but it too has seen slow progress.

Duffy's resolution, which seeks to recognize the Hmong and other ethnic groups like the Khmer, Laotian and Montagnards for their support of the U.S. during the Vietnam War, passed out of a congressional subcommittee in July.

"America is grateful of the Hmong who fought alongside the United States in Southeast Asia," Duffy said in an emailed statement. "We must continue to work to acknowledge the service of Hmong fighters and ensure that they receive the support they deserve.”

For some who served in Vietnam, symbolic recognition and burial rights do not go far enough.

Fellow Vietnam War veteran and former Marathon County Administrator Mort McBain believes more aid should be extended to the Hmong who fought.

“Speaking as a U.S. veteran, I think it’s really important that we recognize these Hmong veterans for what they have done for this country," McBain said. "It's really time. ... They’re the only group in the nation like this that have never been given proper benefits.”

Hmong veterans remain hopeful in the face of pending legislation. Tong Blia Xiong said it is not easy and he knows the complexity of the legislative system will not grant Hmong veterans immediate benefits, but he sees Duffy’s resolution as a starting point for gaining more benefits in the future.

“When they (Congress) recognize that the Hmong did aid the Americans — when this is done, then we can go back and ask for our specific rights and dues," Xiong said.

For Norpor Lor, it's most important that the American government and public acknowledge how the Hmong served alongside the U.S. The Hmong have been faithful to the U.S. as both soldiers and citizens, he said.

“We love the Americans a lot,” Lor said. “When they came to our country to fight the war, we never let them sleep even one night with us because it was dangerous. They didn’t know the country or the land; there was no way they would escape death (if we let them sleep with us).”

Lor emphasized that the Hmong came to the U.S. and became legalized citizens who are part of the culture and society. “We are not Hmong,” he said. “We are American.”

'For our future generations'

Hmong veterans remain focused on national and legislative recognition as Marathon County prepares to dedicate its new Hmong memorial on Saturday.

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin previously reported the memorial was postponed because of a conflict in determining whose names should be on the monument. McBain and Kham T. Yang, both members of the memorial planning committee, said the group consulted with local Hmong community leaders and decided no names will appear on the monument.

The slate that originally was meant to display names of veterans living in Marathon County will now tell a detailed story of the Hmong people and their history.

One Hmong veteran, 72-year-old Chong Ly of Wausau, was pleased with the decision. "As long as it is done, I am happy. I will happily wait for it to be revealed."

Yang said the monument is a community effort that will honor Hmong veterans as well as educate Hmong youths and the greater community about the Hmong people's sacrifice during the Secret War.

Wausau's Hmong-Lao Veterans Memorial is the first of its kind in central Wisconsin. It will be dedicated on Saturday.

What: A memorial statue will honor the Hmong-Lao veterans who fought during the Secret War in Laos.

Where: Marathon County Courthouse, 500 Forest St., Wausau.

When: 10 a.m. Saturday.

Lunch will follow after the ceremony. The event is free and open to the public.

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It was Hmong-Lao appreciation day at The Highground near Neillsville, Thursday, May 14, 2015. Ceremonies included speeches, the planting of a tree and laying of commemorative tiles.(Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

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Hmong shamanist Khoua Lee Moua, right, and veteran Xeng Xiong burn incense in a traditional blessing of the ground in November 2014 during the Hmong Vietnam War Veterans Memorial groundbreaking ceremony at the Marathon County Courthouse in Wausau.(Photo: T'xer Zhon Kha/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)